Beta-Alanine Supplementation Guide

There are different physiological factors that produce the appearance of fatigue during the performance of physical exercise and they considerably limit sports performance. One of them is the ability to tolerate and fight muscular acidosis [1]. This muscle acidosis is derived from the quick energy obtainment from carbohydrates which also involves the production of different metabolites that lower the pH [1].

That is why different supplements known as “buffers” have emerged as a tool to combat this muscle acidosis and promote sports performance. Among these buffer supplements, we find beta-alanine, which is a non-essential amino acid that plays a role in the synthesis of carnosine [2–4]. This carnosine is one of the main buffering substances in the muscle. Therefore, oral supplementation with beta-alanine can increase carnosine levels in the muscle and can counteract the acidosis produced during exercise.

It is worth noting that beta-alanine is one of the supplements with the highest level of evidence (level A), which supports its use for improving sports performance. In this sense, it is among the supplements that directly enhance performance according to the consensus of the International Olympic Committee [4].

But… what effects does beta-alanine supplementation have?

In general, supplementation with beta-alanine significantly improves the performance of sports disciplines lasting between 30 to 10 minutes [2]. These improvements in sports performance could be due to the fact that oral supplementation with beta-alanine: i) decreases neuromuscular fatigue, allowing proper muscle contraction; ii) increases the duration of exercise (e.g., time to exhaustion);and iii) it can increase the capacity of the training and the volume/intensity that can be performed during these trainings [2–4].

But in addition to improving performance in sports disciplines lasting <10 min, beta-alanine could be useful in endurance sports where high-intensity efforts are performed. In this way, an improvement in performance has been observed in different running or cycling disciplines [5,6]. However, no improvements in muscle strength have been observed after supplementation with beta-alanine [2–4].

Therefore… In which disciplines is it interesting to supplement with beta-alanine?

In continuous high-intensity efforts of short duration such as i) short- and middle-distance running disciplines; ii) short- and middle-distance swimming events; iii) other high-intensity, short-duration aerobic sports such as rowing, mountain skiing, etc.

In intermittent high-intensity efforts such as: i) CrossFit; ii) team sports (soccer, basketball, handball, hockey, etc.); iii) combat sports (judo, boxing, wrestling, etc.); or iv) racket sports such as tennis or paddle.

In endurance sports in which it is necessary to perform intense efforts, such as a sprint at the end of a running race, a stage in cycling, or a triathlon.

How should we supplement with beta-alanine?

It is important to keep in mind that supplementation with beta-alanine exerts its effects through a accumulation action. In other words, we need to supplement ourselves in a way chronicle for about minimum 4-6 weeks in order to obtain the performance benefits derived from supplementation. Therefore, an important recommendation will be to plan the supplementation with beta-alanine to reach competitive events with prior supplementation of 4-6 weeks at least [2–4].

In this way, it is recommended to supplement with a dose from among 3.2 and 6.4g of beta-alanine per day [2]. However, it is important to keep in mind that taking the full dose of beta-alanine can trigger possible side effects, as is the case with paresthesia (tingling in the extremities) [2–4]. Therefore, to avoid this possible side effect, it is advisable to choose slow-release supplements and try to divide the total dose into smaller doses of 0.8-1.6g every 3-4 hours [2–4]. And of course, this intake guideline should be individualized depending on the appearance or not of possible derived effects.

Conclusions

The beta-alanine it is one of the supplements with the most evidence to improve sports performance in various disciplines due to its effecttamponade” of muscle acidosis. However, it is necessary to know when it is interesting to supplement with this supplement and how it should be done to maximize its positive effects.

Lucas Jurado Fasoli – Doctor in Biomedicine (UGR). Dietitian-Nutritionist. Postdoctoral researcher at the Joint University Institute of Sport and Health and Department of Physiology, University of Granada.

10% DISCOUNT ON THE WEBSITE WITH THE CODE:

CROWN10

*Free shipping on orders over 25€

References

[1]       Burke LM, Hawley JA. Swifter, higher, stronger: What ’ s on the menu? Science (1979) 2018;787:781–7.

[2]       Saunders B, Elliott-Sale K, Artioli GG, Swinton PA, Dolan E, Roschel H, et al. β-Alanine supplementation to improve exercise capacity and performance: A systematic review and meta-Analysis. Br J Sports Med 2017;51:658–69. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2016-096396.

[3]       Trexler ET, Smith-Ryan AE, Stout JR, Hoffman JR, Wilborn CD, Sale C, et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2015;12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y.

[4]       Maughan RJ, Burke LM, Dvorak J, Larson-Meyer DE, Peeling P, Phillips SM, et al. IOC consensus statement: Dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. Br J Sports Med 2018;52:439–55. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099027.

[5]       Burke LM, Castell LM, Casa DJ, Close GL, Costa RJS, Melin AK, et al. International association of athletics federations consensus statement 2019: Nutrition for athletics. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2019;29:73–84. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2019-0065.

[6]      Santana JO, De Freitas MC, Dos Santos DM, Rossi FE, Lira FS, Rosa-Neto JC, et al. Beta-alanine supplementation improved 10-km running time trial in physically active adults. Front Physiol 2018;9:1105.